Well, now it has another, potentially HUGE use. The filtering of sea-water to produce drinking water.

A mesh of graphene is used to filter out the salt, letting pure water through. Until recently, the holes in the membrane were not small enough to stop all the salts from getting through. Now scientists found a way around this. The potential is huge if they can replicate it on a large-scale outside of the lab.

Many places in the world experience regular drought conditions. In fact, the UN predicts that by 2025, 14% of the world’s population will experience “water scarcity”. Imagine water scarcity being a thing of the past.

Water desalinization plants already exist around the world (and on cruise ships) but can be resource intensive, though some advances have been made to reduce the energy required to produce potable water.

In a few years, the use of graphene could change all that and bring a regular supply of fresh water to millions who need it with a minimal energy requirement. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?